Changes in the Neighborhood

Sometimes it is hard to put yourself in other's places.  Some people have a harder time with it then others.  It seems that I can do this, and maybe it is why I was a pretty good counselor, social worker, and Sunday School teacher for teens.  I listen, but I also care and both help to feel for others.  Thank you, GOD.

Today as I watched neighbors down the road working on taking down fence poles and wire across the road from our house, I could not help but hurt for them.  Three generations had been farming this land, but recently the dad sold it at a land auction.  It is a 65 acre plot that had been used by them for hay, cows, and then crops during my 25 years of living across the road from it.  I have enjoyed see the evolution of it, plus the evolution of dad on tractor, son on tractor, grandson herding the cattle with a four-wheeler, and lately a fourth generation also...that same grandson riding his daughter or son on the four-wheeler with their dogs following behind.  Lots of memories and I am only the observing neighbor.  

Somewhere it had to be decided to sell this land, told that he wanted to pay off all of his bills and build a new barn before he died....about 75 years old now.  But I so felt for the son and grandson as they worked hard on this nice spring day to cut wire, cut some trees, pull up poles and drag away trees they had cut down.  I am imagining that they made some deal with the businessman who purchased the land that they could pull up the poles and fencing and keep it.  They have been some of those Missouri farmers that have scrapped by with everything to hold things together so even used fence poles are a great treasure.  I know the son told my husband he was not too happy about the land being sold.  Division there between generations and yet he and his son had to be out there doing the hard work today.

The new owner is a business man who is buying up acres and then hires others to farm them.  He has had it surveyed and has claimed 1/2 of the abandoned county road so down comes fence on all sides, and he will bulldoze the edges to incorporate more land and also have it better to access with big equipment without a fence.  I am happy always to see progress.  I am glad he hired a local farmer to till the ground for crops.  I am glad for my neighbors that they got a very good price for the land.  But today, just today, I could not help but feel for the two guys working their land for the last time.  I could imagine them saying a little "goodbye" with each pole they took out.

Country life is wonderful, and it, like city life, can also be brutal at times.  It was a nice warm spring day to be outside working.  It was good to work with your child and dogs around, but I can just imagine the "heartache" of the day.